03 May: Hatfield to Nuthampstead

A few hardy souls were waiting at Hatfield for the club ride to Nuthampstead. The forecast was for the rain to clear up by the afternoon so, undeterred by the light rain (was everyone else frightened they might shrink?), we set off for our first planned stop - Much Hadham. When we reached the village we were greeted by a drinks stall at the roadside manned by people cheering us on. Had Carol arranged this reception?

Furneaux Pelham Church

A little further on we found that Hopleys, our planned elevenses stop, was not open until lunch time, so we continued on to the golf course just outside the village. The man at the café was welcoming, coming out to take our orders for tea or coffee while we were securing our bikes. I could not find my wallet, so Jon paid our bill. As we left the wallet turned up – in Craig's pocket. Fortunately he hadn’t opened it to pay for his bacon sandwich or to place a bet on the outcome of the indoor putting practice, where a weighted golf ball added a degree of unpredictability worthy of the forthcoming election.

After our break, the weather started to clear up and we made our way through the Hertfordshire and Essex lanes, avoiding attempts to be sent in the direction of the charity ride taking place that day. We arrived at the Woodman in Nuthampstead in good time and a blazing fire awaited us to dry our socks.

After lunch, the weather was perfect so we decided to try some lanes to the north, which we do not often ride along. These provided some scenic views over the rolling countryside. Unfortunately my e-trike was playing up and the switch finally gave up the ghost. We paused to note the exhortation written on the church clock “Time Flies. Mind Your Business”, so when we got to the long climb from Furneaux Pelham to Braughing, my business was to send the others on ahead to miss the oncoming thunderstorm. Today was the first day of opening for Braughing church hall teas and there was the usual excellent spread of cakes – though we did notice the prices had gone up somewhat. We found Richard waiting for us at Braughing and we rode back managing to dodge any more showers.